First you taste the buttery caramel, then the sweet apple, and finally a nip of salt. These were huge favorites for the 2015 BiteClubCookie Contest — and for good reason.
Submitted by Kathleen White
Cookie
3/4 cup powdered sugar
2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp. apple juice concentrate
1 1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
Drizzle
30 vanilla caramels
2 tbsp. apple juice concentrate
2 tbsp. water
sea salt
Preheat over to 350 degrees.
In large bowl, cream sugar, butter and 1 tablespoon apple juice concentrate until light and fluffy. Stir in flour and salt.
Spoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool.
Drizzle: In heavy saucepan, combine caramels, 2 tablespoons apple juice concentrate and water. Cook until mixture is smooth, stirring constantly. Ribbon the caramel on the cookie, set with sea salt.
Ed note: I used frozen apple juice concentrate, which you can find near the frozen orange juice. For the caramels, I used just the regular old wrapped caramels, but honestly, I think these would be EVEN BETTER if you make your own caramel. Flaked salt would be really pretty too. For the drizzle (and I learned this the hard way), a spoon works best using a gentle “M” motion. For something really fancy, you could try using a squeeze bottle, but wait until the caramel is cool enough to handle.